


What We Do in the Dark

by starduster



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: First Time, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Masturbation, Resolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 11:01:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11147076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starduster/pseuds/starduster
Summary: Lukas finds himself in a casual relationship with Python, and while he's quite certain of what his feelings are, Python isn't so sure.





	What We Do in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Posted from mobile, so please excuse any formatting errors.

Lukas can't sleep.  It's not an unusual occurrence; fighting in a floundering rebellion does that to a person sometimes, and usually you just have to ride it out.  Usually he would just take a stroll through the safer parts of the catacombs until his mind settled down, or step outside into the crisp night air to chat with the guard and gaze at the stars.  But tonight it's storming, and the number of Terrors in the usually cleared halls has been unusually high recently, so instead he lies in his bedroll, hands folded on his stomach as he tries to imagine constellations in the cracks of the vaulted ceilings.

The rest of the men drowse around him.  Forsyth on one side, snoring quietly, Python on the other, and a dozen other men at various positions around the tiny tomb.  Python, for once, is surprisingly quiet.  Usually he's quite a snorer, making all sorts of horrible snorts and wheezes as the night goes on, but tonight there's nothing but silence from the man.

Silence, and then the sound of a soft sigh.

Lukas’s brows furrow. He turns his head to look, finding nothing but the length of Python's back, pale and marred with scars. His ears strain against the quiet and he can pick up the faint rustle of fabric, muffled beneath a blanket, and…

Oh.

A flush rises on Lukas's cheeks and he quickly turns his head away from where he'd been staring.  Of course Python has no sense of shame and would jerk off right here in the open, surrounded by a dozen soldiers.  He wants to rise and slip off into the corridors, dangerous as they may be, just to give the man some privacy, but he also doesn't want to startle him.  

He lays stock still, listening to the sound of Python's breathing and the faint sound of skin on skin.  There's suddenly the sharp staccato report of spitting, and then the rubbing sound is wetter, and dear  _ gods _ .

He's half hard already, just from listening.  Swallowing hard in a desperate bid to wet his suddenly parched throat, Lukas lets his hand drift down beneath the blanket and rest against the hardness laying thick against his thigh.  Stroking tentatively through the fabric, Lukas shuts his eyes and allows his mind to wander.  What's the harm? It's dark, and Python is facing away from him, and the man he's fantasized about since the day they met is jerking off beside him, just a few feet away.  

Lukas wriggles his pants and small clothes down his hips as quietly as he can and grasps himself loosely.  He pictures Python, hand between his legs working at that beautiful cock, thick and ruddy, nestled in dark curls and already leaking pre from the tip.  Cut or uncut?  Uncut, Lukas decides, because Python is just a village boy, nothing fancy.  And because in what little experience he's had with another man's cock he's found that he likes the loose skin, likes sliding it down to reveal the head, likes teasing it with his tongue.

Lukas bites back a moan, his mind getting a little too far ahead of himself.  Not that he'd mind sucking Python's cock, mind you, but where would the opportunity even arise? A chance encounter in an empty hall one night, Python shoving him against the wall and kissing him til he's breathless, pushing him roughly to his knees and fucking Lukas's face? His hand grips tighter around his cock and moves a bit faster.  

What would his face look like while he's getting blown, if Lukas were to look up through tear-rimmed eyes? His head lolls to the side, he opens his eyes, and there it is.  Dark eyes, a flush high on the cheeks, a damned shit eating grin.

“Having fun?” Python whispers, and honestly Lukas should be mortified, caught in the act like this, but just the thought of Python watching him - and for how long? - sends a renewed wave of arousal down his spine.  His eyes flicker down and he can see the movement beneath the blanket still.  Dear gods, Python is jerking off, watching  _ him  _ jerk off.

And suddenly, with his cock grasped in his hand, Lukas feels a swell of confidence.  “Does it look like I'm having fun?” He murmurs back, arching his back a little, throwing his head back a little, putting on just a bit of a show.  

Python licks his lips.  “Sure does,” he whispers, scooting a little bit closer to Lukas, close enough that Lukas can feel the heat of his body through the blankets.  “What are you thinking about?”

The words come rushing up his throat -  _ you, you, you _ \- but Lukas catches them just in time, opting instead to moan lowly again and to slide his free hand up beneath his shirt to pinch at a stiff nipple.  “T-thinking about how much I wish I was fucking something besides my hand.”

There's a hand on his thigh, a hand not his own, an interloper beneath the blanket.  Lukas freezes, his gaze shifting slowly to meet Python's eyes.  There's something dark and unreadable there, something that makes Lukas shiver in its intensity.

“How about,” Python murmurs, his hand inching closer to Lukas's cock, “somebody else's hand?”

His heart is about to pound out of his chest, but Lukas takes little notice.  “Yes please,” he breathes, and then Python's hand is covering his own, working over his cock and his thumb is pressing against his frenulum and Lukas is fairly certain he's died and gone to paradise.  His brain puts forth a hazy thought.  “Wanna touch you,” he whispers, and his newly freed hand slides beneath Python's blanket and seeks out his cock.  

Python, indeed.  His cock is thick and throbbing, veiny and uncut and absolutely everything Lukas could ever want.  That seals the deal; this is absolutely a dream.  He fell asleep without ever knowing it and is having the world's best wet dream, because there's no way that this is actually happening in the miserable existence of the waking world.  

Python lets out a pleased sigh and ruts into Lukas's hand.  “That's good,” he breathes, “keep going.”

With the feeling of Python hard and hot in his palm, Lukas realizes he's feeling terribly empty.  He wants to be filled and pounded by this incredible cock and this incredible man, but perhaps that's a bit too on-the-nose.  At home he has a slender glass plug, purchased with much embarrassment from a specialty glass blower in a strange part of town, and he finds himself yearning for it desperately.  Fingers will have to do.  

He lifts his free hand to his mouth, dipping two fingers in and sucking slightly, not missing the way Python's breathing hitches just a bit.  Bending his knees and spreading his legs, Lukas reaches down past his balls and presses gently, gently against his hole until the tight flesh yields.  The little sting of the stretch is always welcome.

“Gods  _ damn _ ,” Python says with amazement tingeing his voice.  “Never would have guessed that's what you're into, stud.”

He's not going to last much longer.  He's pressing up into his prostate rhythmically, lost in the feeling of Python's hand on him.  Python is fucking into his hand at a brisk pace and before long his hips slam forward and Python lets out a strangled gasp and Lukas feels his release ooze between his fingers.

“Come for me, yeah Lukas, c’mon.”

The use of his name is what does it.  His body tenses and it feels like lightning striking everywhere at once as his orgasm overtakes him.  Python works him through it, a rough hand keeping him grounded to the earth.  

But eventually that hand slips away, wipes itself on the blanket.  Lukas releases his death grip on Python’s softening cock and does the same.  Python sighs happily, rolls onto his back, and pats Lukas's thigh kindly.  

“Pretty sweet, stud.  That was something else.”

The sweat is drying cold on Lukas's skin, and the strangeness of the situation is starting to seep in.  “Thanks,” Lukas responds quietly.  “Any time.”

A pause.  “Lukas, are you into dudes?”

Another pause as Lukas's testicles attempt to wither away in terror.  “Y-yeah, pretty much,” he admits.  “Are you?”

“Nah,” Python responds casually, and the simplicity of the fact makes a little part of Lukas's chest ache. Python yawns. “But that was pretty fun, wouldn't mind doing that again sometime.”

The knot in his chest eases, just the slightest.  “I... I'll keep it in mind then.” He turns his head with a smile he thinks could be charming, but Python has already turned away and dozed off.

 

When he wakes in the morning Lukas’s whole body thrums with unease.  He’s an early riser, as always, and Python is snoring loudly beside him.  For a moment he thinks it may have all just been a dream, the kind of wet fantasy every lonely semi-virgin has every once in a while.  But then he sits up and his asshole is a bit sore, and his stomach is suspiciously crusted with white. 

So it happened, then.  It happened, and now Lukas will have to deal with the horrible morning-after that he had hoped to never have to deal with. 

As quickly and quietly as he can Lukas gets his armor together and rushes outside to wash off last night’s evidence. 

 

When he comes back from the river, scrubbed clean and with his typical proper good-soldier façade set firmly back in place, he finds the Deliverance ambling around the cooking fires in front of the catacombs, munching on whatever they could find for breakfast and preparing for the day’s travels.  He spies Python among them, sleep-rumpled and drowsy, sitting beside Forsyth and chewing on a piece of dried meat.  His face brightens when he sees Lukas and gives him a jaunty little wave. 

Lukas smiles and gives a curt nod in response.  Good.  Better than he had expected.  Perhaps Python doesn’t remember.  He’s a heavy sleeper after all. 

He speaks briefly with Clive on the day’s plans – Lukas will leave for Ram shortly after breakfast – then makes his way over to the fires to find something to eat.  He finds the standard famine fare: stale breads, dried meats that are gods only know how old, some half-hearted porridge.  One of the bread hunks looks fresher than the others, and he reaches for it.

“Hope you washed your hands before you started touching all our food, given where all they were last night.”

Lukas startles so hard he swears he must be rattling in his armor, and spins around to find Python behind him, grinning around a mouthful of meat.  Python reaches behind him and grabs the chunk of bread, takes a bite and offers the rest to Lukas.  “You look like you’ve seen a Terror.  Bad dreams last night?” And now Python’s grin has turned smug, and Lukas scowls at him.

“You startled me, is all,” Lukas replies primly, taking the offered bread and heading for somewhere to sit.  Python follows after him, and he chooses a more isolated spot downwind from the rest of the camp.  Python is babbling on about something, like he does, and Lukas sits quietly as he eats.  At least Python’s not uncomfortable with the morning after; the unease is creeping up Lukas’s spine and finally he can’t keep it contained.

“I need to apologize for last night,” he blurts.  “Gods, it was terribly inappropriate and I can’t even  _ believe _ I did that, acting like that, what was I thinking-“

“No need to apologize,” Python replies casually.  “I told you, it was fun.  No shame in giving a buddy a hand every once in a while.”  He elbows Lukas in the side, grinning lecherously.  “Heh heh, get it?  A hand?  Eh, Lukas?”

Lukas rolls his eyes and drops his head into his hands.  “You’re terrible.  Good gods, you’re horrible.”

“Aww, you wound me,” Python says, then takes the hunk of bread from where it was resting on Lukas’s lap.  “Really though, it’s fine.  Don’t take this the wrong way, but I wouldn’t even be opposed to doing it again sometime.  You made the most ridiculous face when you came, I’d pay money to see that again.”

Lukas peers at him out of the corner of his eye.  Python cuts a nice profile, and there’s no denying that he’s terribly handsome.  The idea of a second encounter is tempting.  Maybe one where they’re not in a tomb, and where it might be a little lighter and more private and Lukas can get more of an eyeful than just finding Python’s cum crusted on his hands in the morning.

“I don’t want it to be weird for you.  Because I’m… interested in men.  I’m certainly open to the idea of doing that again, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Python pats him on the back, and Lukas’s heart flutters.  Perhaps this is a bad idea.  “Hey, it’s not like we’re going to be boning down together and adopting kids afterward.  Just a little jerking off.  Everything’s better when you share it with a friend, right?  Eh, Lukas?”

That, Lukas thinks, may be true.

 

To Lukas’s cautious delight, it keeps happening.

A handjob here and there, one night where the two of them rutted together beneath Lukas’s blankets.  When the Deliverance begins to march north with Alm Lukas thinks their rendezvous will be harder and harder to come by, but in fact fate seems to smile on them. 

The two of them share a tent.  Lukas’s inhibitions start to fade away now that they have their privacy, and he finds himself craving more in their relationship, if that’s what it really is.  Python is no more affectionate than he was the first night.  No kisses, no cuddling, none of the sweet affection that Lukas wants desperately, but it’s better than nothing.  What Python doesn’t provide, Lukas can fill in in his fantasies.

But many of his fantasies are quickly becoming reality, like now.  Kneeling between Python’s legs with the palm of his hand rubbing firmly against the sizable tent in Python’s trousers, his best bedroom eyes on and biting his lip in nervous anticipation, Lukas thinks that this must be,  _ has _ to be a dream. 

“You wanna blow me?” Python asks in slight disbelief, and Lukas knows he’s trying to play it so cool even though he’s rocking his hips against Lukas’s hand like a horny teenager.

Lukas nods.  “I do.  I-if you’re alright with it, that is.”

Python considers him for a moment, then reaches up and smooths his hand through Lukas’s hair.  “Man, I don’t know of a single dude  _ ever _ who would turn down a blowjob, especially with somebody lookin’ at ‘em with a face like that.  How can I say no to that?” He leans back on his hands and grins.  “Have at it, stud.”

Lukas sighs happily.  “Thank you,” he murmurs, leaning up to press a kiss to Python’s neck.  “I’ll try to make it worth your while.  I’ve been told I’m good with my mouth.”

Python snorts out a laugh.  “Thought you were a virgin.”  He raises his hips to assist Lukas in yanking his pants down.

“Mostly a virgin,” Lukas replies replies curtly.  He’s kissing his way down Python’s body, tongue dipping into his naval, savoring the heady, masculine smell of Python’s arousal.  “I’ve charmed a man or two into letting me have my way with them.”

Python laughs softly.  “You’re so cute.”

A familiar warmth pools in Lukas’s belly at the words.  Python is loose with his compliments, and Lukas thrives on the praise.  Even if this never turns into anything, if they just stay in this casual thing, Lukas is sure he can keep himself satisfied with the little bits of love that Python unwittingly throws his way.  He presses his lips to the root of Python’s cock, feels the heavy hotness of it against his cheek.  He’s smitten.  He knows it.

His hand wrapped around the base, Lukas drags his tongue up the length of his cock and lathes it flat against the head, teasing the foreskin down with his free fingers.  No matter how many times they get together he still finds himself in awe of Python’s cock.  Fat, veiny, with a fantastic set of balls that Lukas would die to get his mouth around.  So he does; Python makes a pleased noise when Lukas sucks one into his mouth, nose buried in coarse hair and inhaling that scent he’ll never tire of. 

One of Python’s hands settles atop his head.  It’s not pushing or shoving, just playing idly with ginger curls.  His fingers curl in when Lukas focuses his attention back on his cock, sucking him down a few inches.  Python is huge in his mouth and it takes him a moment to get into a rhythm, a slow, bobbing, lazy suck, easing him further and further into his throat.  Python’s hips are moving slowly, gentle little rocks to help ease them along, but it’s not enough. 

Lukas raises his free hand and places it atop the hand settled in his hair, and he presses down on it gently, hoping Python will get the message.  His eyes flicker up hopefully to meet Python’s heavy-lidded gaze.  “You want me to fuck your face a little bit, Luke?”

Lukas nods as best as he can, which isn’t much, but his eyes sink closed in pleasure when Python’s grip in his hair tighten and his thrusts begin to gain force.  He relaxes himself as much as he can when Python thrusts into his throat, swallowing heavily around him.  “Holy shit,” Python breathes, and Lukas has to agree with him.  This is the part he loves; letting someone else take control, to shut his eyes and just let himself be used.  His cock throbs in his trousers and he rolls his hips gently against the bedroll beneath, desperate for a little bit of stimulation. 

He does, however, have a little bit of stimulation.  Nestled snug between his asscheeks is his beloved glass plug, stretching him open and pressing in all the right places.  On his last visit back to his family’s home he had snagged it from its place hidden at the bottom of a chest in his room, and he’s so glad he did.  He wants Python to fuck him quite badly, but for now this will do.

“God  _ damn _ ,” Python groans, his hips bucking.  “You weren’t lying about being good with your mouth.”  Lukas has fallen into a rhythm and drifted off into his own thoughts.  Between Python fucking his throat and the gentle press against his insides that he hasn’t even noticed that Python’s rhythm is jerky, that his balls have drawn up tight.  “Shit Lukas, I wanna come in your mouth.”

Lukas looks up, nods again.  Python eases out of his throat so the head of his cock sits just on Lukas’s tongue, and Lukas flicks his tongue just a bit to tease at the glans, earning him a pleased groan.  He must look a sight: drool dripping off his chin, tears pricking at his eyes and his hair plastered against his sweaty forehead.  But it must be enough, because with a harsh groan Python’s fist tightens around his cock and come spurts out onto Lukas’s tongue.  Lukas shuts his eyes in bliss as the last few spurts fall, and when Python pulls out he swallows it all. 

A soft hand on his cheek brings him back to the present.  When he opens his eyes Python is peering at him fondly, still catching his breath but grinning ear to ear.  “That was fucking incredible,” he murmurs, thumbing the tears out of Lukas’s eyes.  “You’ve got a hell of a talent, y’know that?”

“Thank you,” Lukas rasps, rubbing gently at his sore throat.  He wants to bask in the praise, but his body is still reminding him that he’s rock hard and dripping.  He dips his hand below his waistband and wraps it around himself, starting a rough pace.

“Hey, hey,” Python chides, grasping Lukas’s wrist and moving it away.  “Take your pants off, let me do that for you.”

Lukas nods, raises himself wobbly to his feet, and turns around.  When he bends to step out of his trousers he hears Python suck in a breath, then a low whistle. 

“Lukas, Lukas, Lukas, you little slut,” Python breathes as Lukas straddles his hips and settles to rest in his lap, his cock rubbing against the grooves of Python’s abs.  Python’s hand curls around one cheek, his fingers reaching out to tap the smooth base of the plug.  “I can’t believe you.  How long’ve you had this in, babe?  Oh my god…”

Lukas shudders when Python tugs at the base, fucking forward into the fist around his cock.  He laughs breathlessly.  “Isn’t it nice?  I put it in right after we made camp.”  The plug’s pulled out nearly all the way, then pushed slickly back in.  Lukas groans and buries his face in Python’s neck.  “Oh, it feels so good, don’t stop, please.”

“I’ve got you,” Python says with a smug smile in his voice as his fingers keep working on the plug.  “You don’t think I’d just leave you hanging after you gave me such a good time, do you?”

When Lukas comes it feels like it never ends, and maybe it really isn’t, given how Python hasn’t let up with the plug, keeps rubbing it over that spot that makes him tremble and seize with wave after wave of pleasure.  Finally Lukas groans out a hoarse plea –  _ enough, oh Gods  _ – and Python eases the plug out with a soft laugh. 

They stay where they are for a moment as Lukas catches his breath and Python rubs his fingers teasingly over Lukas’s slick, clenching hole, but soon Lukas climbs off and lays down on the bedroll.  Python stretches out beside him, grabs his shirt from a pile of discarded clothes and wipes Lukas’s come from their stomachs.  Lukas murmurs a drowsy  _ thank you,  _ and Python responds  _ right back at you. _

Then comes the quiet.

Lukas has grown used to the easy silence that comes after their sex.  He knows Python is stewing in his own thoughts, but there’s not much he can do about it.  Python will have to work through this himself,  Lukas knows this, they both know this.  Lukas knows there’s every possibility that Python will decide he  _ isn’t _ into men and their fling will remain nothing more than a fling.  His heart aches to think it may end that way, but that’s just how life is.  Lukas isn’t the kind of person to force someone into a situation they’re not comfortable with.

With a sigh, Lukas rolls onto his side and peers at Python.  The other man is laying on his back, eyes narrowed in a glare at the ceiling, apparently lost in thought.  “What are you thinking about so seriously over there?” Lukas asks, hoping the hint of tease in his voice will help ease some of the tension out of the situation. 

Python’s head lolls to the side and he meets Lukas’s questioning gaze with the same intensity he’d had leveled at the ceiling.  “Lukas, you… you like doing this, right?  It’s good for you?”

Lukas blinks in surprise, then smiles softly.  “Of course I do.  Why do you ask?”

Python rolls to face him and lays an arm over Lukas’s hip.  It’s an unusually affectionate gesture, coming from a man who hasn’t even kissed him yet despite all of their times together, and Lukas feels a little bloom of warmth in his chest.  “You’re the first guy I’ve ever been with.  I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but I at least want you to be happy while I try and figure it out.”  His fingers smooth over a scar on Lukas’s lower back, rubbing over the raised skin in an almost meditative fashion. 

“Figure what out?” Lukas knows the answer, thinks he knows, at least, but he thinks it will do Python some good to breach the subject himself.

Heaving in a great breath, Python shuts his eyes for a moment.  “I guess… what I’m feeling.  With you.  I mean I’ve never been with another guy, the thought that I might be into this never even crossed my mind, and then you showed up and started jerking off next to me—“

“We both know  _ you _ started that,” Lukas teases, earning him a soft swat on the rear. 

“Shush.  I’m not that smart, Luke, you know that.  I don’t know what I’m feeling, and I can’t figure it out.  I don’t know what this is, but I know I don’t want to fuck it up.”

Lukas reaches out and rests his hand on the side of Python’s neck, his fingers resting along his jaw and stroking gently, affectionately.  “It doesn’t have to be anything right now.  If I’m… if  _ this _ is what you want, I want you to figure that out yourself.  I’m plenty happy enough to wait.”

Python smiles a sheepish little smile, then pulls himself closer to Lukas and buries his face in Lukas’s neck.  “What the hell, Lukas.  You say things so sweet like that and it makes me gayer by the minute.”

That rips a burst of laughter from Lukas’s thoat and helps force down some of the happy teariness he had already felt building up.  Lukas presses a kiss to the top of Python’s head and ruffles his hair tenderly.  “That’s all part of my plan,” he murmurs, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.  Python laughs and snuggles in closer.  “But hey?”

Python makes an inquisitive  _ hmmm _ into Lukas’s skin.

“If you want to do something to make this better for  _ me _ , you could kiss me every once in a while.  If you’re alright with that, that is.”  There’s still a little bubble of anxiety resting uncomfortably in Lukas’s throat, and it rises alarmingly when Python lifts his head and peers at him curiously.

Python’s brow furrows.  “I haven’t kissed you yet?”

_ Oh, for the love of Mila. _  “No, not yet.”

Poor Python, Lukas thinks.  The man looks genuinely confused.  “I could have sworn I’ve kissed you.  I’ve  _ dreamed _ about kissing you, lots of times.  I seriously haven’t kissed you?”

Lukas grins, heart beating wildly with how much, he realizes, he is absolutely in love with the fool in his arms.  “You seriously have not kissed me, not in the waking world, though I’m flattered you dream about me.”

And Python grins back.  “Well, I guess I owe you a couple, huh?” 

The first touch of lips is gentle.  Python’s lips are chapped and he’s a little stubbly, but to Lukas it feels like heaven.  He sighs against Python’s mouth and presses his body a little closer, deepening the kiss when Python’s arms pull tighter around him.  He’s breathless, almost a little dizzy and overwhelmed with how right this feels, finally, after all this time spent beating around the bush. 

Python breaks the kiss, flops his head back down on the pillow.  His fingers are running through Lukas’s hair gently, ragged fingernails scratching the scalp, and Lukas decides that if the two of them were to lay like this for the rest of their like, he really wouldn’t mind. 

“Is that about what you wanted? Cause I can do that to you all you want,” Python murmurs.

Lukas smiles.  “Yes, I think that will work for me just fine.”

 

Python is coming around.  It doesn’t take as long as Lukas had feared; with the subject of the intimacy of their relationship now breached, Lukas can feel that some of the unresolved tension between them is starting to lift, and that Python is becoming more and more comfortable with him.  He lingers longer after sex, cuddles more, kisses Lukas like there’s nothing he wants to do more in life. 

Lukas is happy.  Even with the war, with everything going on in Zofia and beyond her borders, he feels like he has somewhere to curl up and hide, to tangle up with Python in their tent and forget the carnage outside if only for a night.  Of course, carnage can be difficult to ignore, especially when it comes right to you in the form of a lance through your side.

Silque says he’s either the luckiest man she’s ever met, or the soldier that stabbed him was the kindest enemy to ever set foot on the battlefield.  The lance missed organs, instead making a clean stab in one side and out the other and doing most of its damage in the form of torn muscles and bruised ribs and a healthy dose of blood loss.  Silque’s timely intervention saved his life and reversed the worst of the damage, but he’s still left with horrendous bruising, entry and exit wounds packed with gauze, and a torso swathed in bandages.  He is, for the time being, an invalid, riding in the back of the convoy wagon and spending most of his free time doing inventories, attempting to cook, or just laying on his back wishing there was something to do.

Python indulges him, despite his inability to do much more than give a not-very-good handjob at present.  They lay together one evening, Lukas with his head pillowed in Python’s lap and Python braiding a dozen tiny plaits into Lukas’s hair. 

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Python asks for the hundredth time.  He wants to help so badly but there’s not a thing Lukas can think of to tell him besides just to wait.

“I suppose you could fuck me,” Lukas jokes.  “If I’m stuck on my back you might as well get some use out of me.”

Python is quiet for a moment, his hands going still in Lukas’s hair.  “Do you want me to fuck you?”  His voice is low, ridiculously serious, and Lukas can hear the tinge of arousal behind it.

Lukas sighs.  “Now, now, don’t get too excited, that was a joke.  I’d love to have you fuck me, but I’d like it to be at a time where I don’t run the risk of bleeding out all over you.”  He reaches up and pats Python’s flushed face.  “And I’d rather my first time not be on a dirty bedroll with bugs crawling all over me.”

“You want me to be your first…?” Python’s voice is awfully honest, betraying a little bit of anxiety and a little bit of excitement.  He gazes down at Lukas with something akin to open adoration on his face, his hands resting gently on Lukas’s chest.  It’s such a soul-searching look, and Lukas can’t help the little blush that creeps onto his cheeks.

“I would,” he whispers, “very much.”  He swallows heavily.  “There’s no one in the world I’d trust more.”

There’s a moment of silence, then Python bends as best he can to kiss Lukas chastely on the mouth.  “Well,” Python murmurs, and Lukas can feel the smug grin against his lips.  “Just you wait until we get to an inn, stud.  I’m gonna rock your world so hard they’re going to throw us out.”

Lukas bursts out in laughter.  “Please don’t get us thrown out of the inn.”

Python kisses him again.  “No guarantees, sweetheart.”

 

It’s nearly a month before they come to a town with an inn.  With Silque’s help the stab wound is little more than a pair of scars and some colorful bruising, and with his renewed health comes renewed desire.  Lukas hopes desperately that Python hasn’t forgotten his promise or gotten cold feet.

They make camp on the outskirts of the town.  The townsfolk are happy to provide the Deliverance with any supplies they can, but it’s little more than a village and the inn is little more than a glorified tavern with a few extra rooms, so they camp in a sprawl outside the town gates. 

Lucas busies himself with setup.  Tents to be pitched, fires to be built, watches to be planned, food to cook, inventories to take and armor to be repaired; the list never seems to end.  He bustles from one spot to the next, and before long all thoughts of Python are pushed out of his mind.  He’s leaning into the convoy wagon, straining to reach a crate of apples, when a pair of arms wrap around his waist and tug him against a warm body. 

“What’s it going to take to get you out of here?” Python purrs in his ear, pressing soft kisses to the length of Lukas’s neck.

“About twenty more people to help me take care of all this,” Lukas responds primly.  He finally reaches the crate and hauls it towards him, hefting it into Python’s arms.  “Put this over there, will you?  Gods, I would never have guessed that we carry so much junk with us…”

He hears the apple crate being set down – not where he asked for it to be, he notes with a bit of fond irritation – and senses Python sidle up behind him again.  “I wanna keep my promise, you know,” Python murmurs.  “Take you to bed and spend a nice night with you, away from all this.”

Lukas sighs and smiles at him.  “And I desperately want to take you up on that promise, but I don’t think Sir Clive is going to grant us leave just so I can go roll around with you in the comfort of a real bed.”

Python grins.  “Are you kidding? He’s already given us permission.”

“You know you actually have to  _ ask _ for permission in order to get it, right—“

“I don’t know if you know this but Clive’s been onto us for  _ months _ now.  He was happy to grant us a night of leave, just as a thank-you for our continued service and a guarantee that he won’t accidentally walk in on me balls-deep in your ass.” Python’s hand settles on the back of Lukas’s neck, massaging tenderly.  Lukas is already flushed bright red just from such lewd words, from the intoxicating feeling of Python’s hand on his skin.  “So how about we blow this joint, and you let me take care of you?”

 

For such a tiny inn in such a tiny town, the room isn’t bad.  The mattress doesn’t smell, the sheets are threadbare but clean, and there’s a basin and pitcher of clean water on the bedside table.  Perhaps it isn’t what he had imagined for his first time, but Lukas doesn’t find himself terribly concerned, not with his back flat on the mattress and Python kissing him like his life depends on it. 

But for assured as Python’s touches feel, for as passionately as Python is kissing him, Lukas is nervous.  His heart hammers against his ribs and his fingers feel shaky where they’re settled on Python’s waist, and he feels like he might just pass out at any given moment.  Python, to his credit, is sharper than Lukas had expected him to be.  He draws back, letting Lukas suck in a shaky breath, and his thumb strokes gently where it rests on Lukas’s flushed cheek. 

“You alright?” he murmurs.  “We don’t have to do this.  We can just chill, if you want.”

Lukas swallows heavily and peers into Python’s eyes.  The look he finds there takes his breath away: hopeless, helpless adoration, the kind of look he has dreamed of for most of his adult life.  Closing his eyes and forcing himself to relax back into the bedding, Lukas nods and slides his arms to encircle Python’s waist and tug him closer.

“I want to do this,” he declares, and the seriousness so heavy in his voice makes Python snort out a laugh.  Lukas frowns.  “Don’t laugh at me! I’m serious!”

“I know you’re serious,” Python says, pressing a kiss to Lukas’s neck, jaw, cheek. 

“I’m just… nervous.” He raises a hand and rests it atop Python’s head, ruffling his hair in a motion that he’s found is more self-soothing than anything.  “I haven’t done this before.  Not with anyone else, at least.”  He doesn’t mention that he’s terrified of disappointing the man he’s worked so hard to charm, the man he’s dreamed of for so long.  But that man is smiling at him, and the warmth in his eyes is a balm on his frazzled nerves.

“I’ve never done this with a guy, either,” Python murmurs.  “But we’re a couple of smart guys, I bet between the two of us we can figure it out.”  Python shifts to the side to sprawl out on his side beside Lukas, head propped up on one hand and the other resting on Lukas’s bared stomach.  “Besides, it can’t be  _ that _ different from fucking a woman.  Different hole, same idea, more lube.”

It feels good to laugh.  Lukas laughs until his chest hurts, until there’s tears in his eyes, and then he rolls onto his side and tucks himself against Python’s chest.  “Dear Gods, Python, I love you, but that was terrible.”

Python kisses him on the forehead and grins at him.  “You love it when I’m terrible.  Admit it.”

Lukas smiles and sits up, gets to work on unfastening his belt.  “I suppose that’s true.”  He can feel Python’s eyes on him as he wriggles out of his trousers, and the thought turns him on more than he expected it to.  Now fully naked he sits back on the bed, legs spread, cock half-hard against his thigh.  “Now come make love to me.”

 

There are three fingers and a tongue in his ass, and Lukas is going to lose his mind.  His face is buried in his arms and his ass is in the air, and Python is behind him doing incredible things with his tongue that Lukas had never even dreamed a man was capable of.  He’s given up on trying to be quiet at this point, moaning and groaning and biting his fist when he starts getting too noisy.  Python’s fingers curl against his prostate with each gentle push inside him and his other hand is wrapped loosely around Lukas’s cock, giving him a slick tunnel to fuck into but there’s little stimulation.  He needs more.

”Oh, please please  _ please, _ just fuck me, dear Gods…”  Python’s fingers press in hard and Lukas shudders, his legs quaking and threatening to give out on him.  Python’s tongue leaves him and Lukas hears him laugh. 

“You sound nice when you beg.”  A final deep screw of his fingers and then they’re gone, letting Lukas gape around the emptiness.  He shivers; it’s a strange feeling.  Python runs a hand slowly down the length of Lukas’s spine, then pushes gently until Lukas gets the idea and lowers himself to sit.  He leans back for a kiss and Python indulges him.  When they part Python sits back and wraps a hand around himself, jerking off lazily.  “So how do you want to do this?”

Lukas ponders this for a moment.  “I want to be able to see you,” he finally decides, “so on my back, I think.”

Python grins and kisses him again.  “I do like seeing your cute face.”

There’s a brief silence, warm and heavy with expectation, as they get ready.  Lukas arranges the pillows behind himself and lays back, spreading his legs and giving himself a few tugs as he watches Python slick himself up with the thick grease he’d purchased from an apothecary for this very purpose.  Until now spit and bottles of oils had done them well, but Python had assured him that this was necessary to ease the way.  Lukas had thought perhaps Python had just been stroking his own ego, but now, with the whole concept right in front of him, he thinks perhaps he  _ will _ need the extra help to get Python inside him. 

Python moves to sit between his spread legs and smooths his hands over Lukas's trembling thighs.  His cock rests against Lukas's own and Python rolls his hips slowly, grinning when Lukas sucks in a breath at the friction.

“Ready for this?” he asks, with so much smugness in his voice that Lukas finds himself slightly wanting to hit him.  But there's still that look in his eyes, such warm fondness there that Lukas also wants to just hold him tight and never let go.  He lifts his hands from where they rest on his stomach and laces them behind Python's head, pulling him down for a long slow kiss.

“Go slow,” he murmurs against Python's lips.  “I want to feel you.” 

Python straightens up and takes his cock in hand, rubs the fat head against Lukas's puckered hole.  Lukas closes his eyes and lays his head back against the pillow, willing away the brief fluttering panic in his chest when he feels the first pressure against his hole.  

It doesn't hurt like he expected it to. Sure, he'd had the experience of the plug, but Python is much thicker and not made of smooth slick glass, and Lukas had expected to hurt and maybe even tear.  Instead he feels overwhelmingly  _ full _ as Python slides home, the achy stretch hardly even noticeable through the blood pounding in his ears and the feeling of Python entirely inside him, hips snug against his own, Python's hand wrapped loosely around his cock and tugging slowly.  He forces himself to breathe - he hadn't even realized he was holding his breath - and opens his eyes.

Python is grinning that damnably cheeky grin as he rolls his hips slowly.  They're not even thrusts as much as just nudges, but Python is pressing against him just right in all the right places and Lukas can hardly breathe anyways.  “That good, huh?” He draws his hips back and gives a solid thrust, and Lukas can't hold back the strangled moan that escapes his lips.

“Good gods,” Lukas says, voice hardly above a whisper.  It's indescribable, nothing like fingers or the plug, every push and pull within him causing heat to pool in his loins and spread up his spine like fire.  Python's movements are slow and steady, dragging against his prostate every time.  Dazedly Lukas thinks he would like to be able to see this, to see his hole spread around Python's huge cock, to watch as Python fucks him.  

Python's pace picks up.  “Gods, you're tight as a vice.” He bends to kiss him and Lukas returns it eagerly, wrapping his arms around Python's shoulders to keep him close.  Their kisses are sloppy but Lukas is so lost in the feeling of Python inside him, of the pleasure burning him up from the inside out, that he doesn't find himself caring.  “Fucking shit, Luke, you feel so good…” 

“Harder,” Lukas orders, gasping when Python hammers into him and bodily rocks him up the bed.  His toes curl and he shudders, legs tightening around Python's waist, but it isn't enough.  “Oh, fuck me harder, please, please,  _ please-” _

_ “ _ Shh, shh, I got you,” Python murmurs into his ear, accented with a sweet kiss to the cheek.  “How 'bout you get on your hands and knees? I can really fuck you good like that.” Lukas nods, cringing when Python slips out of him and helps him awkwardly flip to his front.  He feels terribly exposed like this and peers back over his shoulder, seeking reassurance, but Python is already leaning up for a kiss.  “That's it, baby, just like this.  Gods, just look at you…”

He slides back in and  _ that's _ it, the kind of deep that Lukas needed, with Python draped over his back like a big heavy blanket and his arms wrapped tight around Lukas's middle.  He can't stop the moans that just keep coming, punctuating every rough thrust, and eventually he gives up trying.  He thinks he might die from how good everything feels, and ultimately he can't find anything wrong with the idea.

He's going to come soon.  Python isn't even touching him anymore but his balls are drawn up tight and that familiar knot is tightening in his belly.  He's going to come untouched, just from Python inside him.  “G-gonna come, Python,” he groans out.  “Feels so good, oh gods.”

“Come on, stud, come for me,” Python breathes into his ear.  His thrusts have grown harder and faster, erratic.  He's not far behind.  “C’mon Lukas, show me how good it feels.” 

He comes with a strangled cry, body tense and legs quaking as his seed spurts onto the blanket, pleasure flooding his nerves in overwhelming waves.  It's stronger than any he's had before, so much that he’s on the brink of tears when Python's punishing pace slows to a stop and he hears Python purring sweet nothings into his ear.  

“Gods, you're so fucking beautiful, I love you so much,” Python murmurs against Lukas's back, pressing kisses wherever his lips can reach.  Blood is roaring in his ears and Lukas can hardly even hear his own thoughts over the feverish hammering of his heart and his heaving breaths, but he catches those three words and lets their even cadence bring him back to solid ground.  I love you, I love you, I love you.  

“Just a little bit more, okay?” Python murmurs, straightening up with his hands on Lukas's hips and starting to move again when Lukas nods.  Lukas lowers himself to rest on his forearms and savors the sore, overstimulated ache as he waits for Python to finish.  Not much later Python slams in and comes with a grunt, spilling inside him.  

They don't move for a moment, breathless and dazed, but finally Python sighs and pulls out slowly.  Lukas cringes at the feeling of cold air, but Python smoothes a hand down his back tenderly and lingers on his crack, fingers teasing the gaping flesh.  

“That's a pretty sight,” Python teases.  “Look at you, taking that dick like a champ.” 

Lukas pushes himself back up and settles back gingerly into a kneel.  It's starting to ache, and marching tomorrow is going to be hell, but he doesn't find himself minding when he looks over his shoulder and sees the look on Python's face.  

Python is sitting cross-legged, hands resting in his lap, smiling a soft, fond smile at Lukas.  “So how was it?”

Lukas smiles back, his face feeling even hotter and redder than it was before, and he stretches out to lie down.  “It was absolutely incredible.” He extends a hand to Python, who takes it and settles down beside him.  They kiss leisurely for a while, skin cooling and heartbeats slowing.  Finally Lukas sighs and rolls onto his back, hesitating a moment before reaching out and resting his hand atop Python's.  The last vestige of anxiety settled in the back of his mind slips away when Python laces their fingers together.  

“I meant it, you know,” Python says after a moment. 

“I know,” Lukas replies simply, squeezing their joined hands.  “I've known for a while, I've just been waiting on you to come to terms with it.”

“Never thought it would happen, I guess,” Python says quietly.  “Kept trying to brush it off as just sex.  But then that day, Silque said you could have died, and I just… I knew.  I knew I was totally fucked.”

“'Totally fucked,’ huh?” Lukas says, smiling a wistful little smile.  “Well, I'm glad.” He turns his head, finds Python looking at him.  “Say it again?”

Python smiles and turns himself to snuggle into Lukas's side.  “I love you, Lukas,” he murmurs into his ear.  

Lukas smiles and turns his head for a kiss.  Python indulges him with a chaste, beloved kiss so full of emotion that Lukas thinks he just may cry after all.

“I love you, too.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Love these boys, honestly.


End file.
